We read all the lead to present a different history.
When it comes to the Shu Han regime in the Three Kingdoms period, there are too many mysteries to be solved, and this only regime without a historian has also aroused the strong interest of later generations of scholars. Why did Liu Bei attack Eastern Wu? What was the reason for Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition? Liu Chan was not a dimwitted monarch, so why did he have to re-eunuch Huang Hao? This series of problems eventually disappeared into the long river of history with the demise of the Shu Han.
▲Line-bound edition of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
As for the Shu Han officials, their traces in history are far inferior to those of Cao Wei officials. Some people obviously held important positions and made indelible contributions to the Shu Han Dynasty, but there are few records in the history books. For example, Liu Bei's most trusted bodyguard, Chen Zhi, was the commander of the mysterious unit "Bai Yi Bing", but there were only a few sporadic clues in the history books. Another example is the famous Shu Han general Liao Hua, who has the courage to know people in both literature and martial arts, but he only has a small biography of a hundred words. However, relatively speaking, most of the Shu Han courtiers and generals still have their own biographies, although they are joint biographies, but the rest of the masters are basically on the same level as them, and have no subordination to each other.
▲Stills of Wenchen in the Three Kingdoms period
However, there are always exceptions to everything, in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", there is such a sad Shu Han heavy minister, there is no separate biography, nor is there a joint biography with others, and his life record is only found in the small biography attached to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms And Zhuge Liang". This person was Dong Jie, a scholar of the Shu Han Dynasty. Dong Jie (東厥), courtesy name Gong Xian ,, a native of Pingshi County , Yiyang Commandery ( present-day Tongbai County , Henan ) , was a fellow of the Zhenbei general Wei Yan. Dong Yue served as the Commander of the XiangFu in his early years, and later moved to the post of Xiang Xiang (丞相主) Bo. Dong Jie in his youth was equivalent to Zhuge Liang's number one secretary, responsible for helping him sort out some complicated government affairs.
▲ Shu Han Xiang Zhuge Liang stills
According to historical records, Dong Jie should be a quite talented person, and Zhuge Liang once commented on him as "Dong Lingshi, Liang Shi also." Whenever I talk to him, I think carefully and appropriately. With Zhuge Liang's characterization, Dong Yue naturally had a smooth wind on the road of career. According to historical records, "After liang's death, he moved slightly to Shangshu Servant Shooting, replacing Chen Qi as Shangshu Ling, moving the general to the general, platform affairs, and Yiyang Fan Jianjian dai yan." It can be seen that Dong Jie, as an official of Zhuge Liang's lineage, has been smooth sailing along the way and has achieved the high position of Shang Shuling.
▲ Stills of Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty
At the end of the Shu Han Dynasty, Dong Jie and Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan jointly controlled the imperial government. "For four years, (Zhuge Zhan) was a general guarding the capital of Xingdu, and he and the auxiliary general Nanxiang Hou Dongjie and Pingshang Shushi." It can be seen that Dong Yue was a great general of the Auxiliary State at this time, and his position in Shu Han was already above ten thousand people under one person. After the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty, Dong Yue followed Liu Chan to surrender to Deng Ai and became a member of the Jin Dynasty, which has disappeared into history since then. So the question is, as a heavy minister of the late Shu Han Dynasty, why is there no separate biography in the history books?
▲Zhuge Zhan stills
In fact, this is also very easy to understand, Ziyuan mentioned at the beginning of the article that the Shu state did not have a historian, which is the most important reason. In addition to this, there are two possible reasons. First of all, Dong Jie had been a vassal of Zhuge Liang for a long time, and the period of independent rule was too short. From the beginning of The reign of Dong Yue in the fourth year of Jing Yao (261 AD) to the demotion of Liu Chan in the sixth year of Jing Yao (263 AD), it was only two years. Governing the country is a long-term matter, but unfortunately Dong Yue did not have the opportunity to prove his talents. Coupled with the distinct subordinate relationship on his body, this is the reason why Dong Jie's biography is attached to Zhuge Liang's biography.
▲ Stills of the later lord Liu Chan and the eunuch Huang Hao
On the other hand, Dong Yue did not fulfill his duty as a courtier. According to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Zhuge Liang's Biography", "Self-consulting, Que, and Jiantong, Jiang Wei was often on expedition, the eunuch Huang Hao was stealing the handle of the machine, the Xian Communist General was protected, and he was incompetent, and Ran Jiante did not make peace with Hao." In Chen Shou's view, Dong Yue was in his position and did not seek his own government, and in the face of Huang Hao's power and did not stop it in time, wouldn't this be a loss of the duty of a courtier? From this point of view, although Dong Yue's encounter is inevitably regretted, the warning meaning conveyed from the history books should also be paid attention to by future generations.
bibliography:
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 33, Shushu III, Later Main Biography", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 35, Shushu 5, Zhuge Liang's Biography"